Genoa revolt subsides

After five days of all-out strikes by Genoa’s public sector transport workers, a ferociously contested four-hour mass assembly on Saturday 23 November resulted in resigned acceptance of a shabby deal cooked up by the local mayor and the bureaucrats of the major unions involved.

The strike had been launched by rank-and-file workers against the “leftwing” Mayor’s plans to privatise the lcoal public owned transport company, against a background of cuts to wages and conditions.

Organising academics as workers

Academics love nothing more than having a moan about the terrible state of the neo-liberal university. We tend to be slightly less enthusiastic when it comes to getting up from our desks and doing something about it. This has begun to change, however, as pockets of resistance have begun to emerge at several different British universities in the last few years.

Outsourced workers strike for equality

On Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 November, outsourced workers at the University of London will strike as part of their “3 Cosas” (“3 Things”) campaign for sick pay, holiday, and pension equality with their directly employed colleagues. The strike coincides with the University’s “Foundation Day”, due to be attended by Princess Anne. A protest is planned for 6pm on Wednesday 27 November at Senate House. A University of London worker spoke to Solidarity about the strike.

Zombieflash mob for the NHS

Over the last few months the student health campaign Medsin in collaboration with the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts have been working on a student-led campaign in defense of the NHS, against privatisations and cuts.

This week (beginning 25/11) we have a week of action.

Medsin groups and student unions will be holding meetings, showing films, and at 1pm on Saturday 30 November the week will culminate in a nation wide zombie flashmob.

LRC commits to build Defend The Link "as widely as possible"

The annual conference on 23 November 2013 of the Labour Representation Committee, a Labour left grouping launched in 2004 by John McDonnell MP and supported by the affiliation of six trade unions, voted to build the "Defend The Link" campaign "as widely as possible".

It also passed a motion from AWL for an "internationalist campaign in the European elections", based on the LRC's policy passed in 2011: "In or out, the fight goes on"; "For a Workers' Europe".

Genoa all-out transport strike spreads to Rome

2,000 workers of the local public transport company launched an immediate all-out strike four days ago against the decision by the city's mayor to permit private companies to bid for the future control and management of the city's buses.

Marching to the city's council offices they demanded a confrontation with the left/centre mayor, who in a typical display of arrogance locked the doors to present his report to his fellow public officials. The decision was confirmed and the workers reps were offered the chance to solve the companies debt by accepting layoffs and wage cuts!

Cinema workers continue fight

Cinema workers employed by the Curzon chain have promised to escalate their campaign if management backtrack from an agreement to voluntarily recognise their union, BECTU.

Curzon management have agreed in principle to recognise the union, but for reasons which a campaign statement says are "unclear", have stalled in signing it. The campaign has agreed a truce until 25 November, in which time it expects management to sign the agreement.

75 years ago: the Fourth International is founded after a 15-year fight against Stalinism

Max Shachtman, writing in 1938, surveys the stages of the long struggle against Stalinism which was crystallised in September 1938 by the founding of the Fourth International. Shachtman, who together with James P Cannon had represented the US Trotskyist organisation there, had chaired the Founding Conference.

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